Choice
by actionman81
Summary: Olivia Benson has a decision to make, rather, a choice


SVU Squadroom

"Ok, what've we got?" Captain Don Cragen entered the squad room  
"Thirty six year old white female rape victim" Detective Olivia Benson looked up from the paperwork strewn on her desk  
"And?"  
"We're heading out to talk to her" Detective Nick Amaro stood  
"Rollins, go with Benson" Cragen shook his head, "Amaro, I need you here" he turned to Fin and Munch, "Anything else?"  
"Well Captain," Olivia began, "This says that her name is Melissa Cuttler " she looked over to Munch, "Sargent Frank Cuttler 's wife"  
"I can go talk to him" Munch offered  
"Do that" Cragen agreed, "Fin, go with him"  
Fin nodded as he and Munch stood

Major Case Squad bullpen

"Hey Frank" Munch waved dryly  
"Hey yourself" Sargent Cuttler grinned briefly, a stack of paperwork under one arm, as he crossed the room and headed to his desk, "coffee?" he motioned over to the machine in the corner  
"No, we're here for business" Fin explained  
"Oh" Cuttler 's face fell, "let's talk somewhere"  
"Good idea" Munch agreed. The three headed to an unused interrogation room, "So what's going on?" once they reached there  
"I didn't do anything"  
"Come on Frank, everyone says that" Munch shook his head  
"When did she say it happened?"  
"Frank you're not making this easier by asking that" Munch adjusted his sunglasses, "where were you last night?"  
"Out" Frank shrugged  
"Out? Come on, you're not a teenager" Fin sighed  
"Look, you put in long hours, you lose some perspective on some things" Frank began, "my marriage was one of them"  
"Ok"  
"I thought she was cheating on me"  
"So you got angry and took it out on her?" Fin queried  
"No, nothing like that. I asked a friend to check on her"  
"To spy on her, you mean" Munch clarified  
"Ok yeah, fine. I got someone to spy on her" he sounded sarcastic but spoke the truth, "and I was right. She's got a guy on the side" he looked up at the detectives, "I bet it was him. He's been after our daughter"  
"Come on down to our unit and get this documented" Munch suggested

Cuttler Residence

"Hello Mrs. Cuttler " Olivia knocked on the door, "It's the police"  
"Hello" she opened the door a crack, "the department said they'd send someone"  
"Can we come in?" Detective Amanda Rollins flashed her badge to the space between the door and the door frame  
The latch opened and the door swung away from the frame. Melissa Cuttler stood in the small foyer, dressed in a housecoat over a satin nightgown. Her face was badly bruised and she had cuts on her face and hands.  
"You really should get those looked at" Rollins suggested  
"I will- I uh" Melissa seemed unsure  
"Have you had a rape kit made?" Olivia ventured  
"Oh, no no. I just called the police today when I awoke"  
"Alright" Olivia nodded, "You'll have to come with us so we can document everything. It looks like you haven't bathed yet"  
"Right, no I haven't" she looked around belatedly, "I'll- I'll come with you"

SVU Interrogation Room 1

Melissa, now dressed in gray NYPD sweats, having had a rape kit made, sat in a hard metal chair. Olivia and Amanda sat opposite her, a sturdy wooden table between the detectives and Melissa

"Frank and I -" she paused, looked warily at the mirrored wall on the far side of the room and glanced back at the detectives  
"Go ahead" Olivia gently pressed Melissa to continue  
"We're separated. I've got custody of our daughter. She'd gone out for a sleepover at a friend's house. I'd invited Jack over"  
"Jack?"  
"My boyfriend. We met while grocery shopping" she smiled momentarily. The smile faded, "I thought it was Jack, but Frank was at the door instead. He wanted to know where Jenny was. Our daughter, Jenny. I said she'd gone out. Frank became livid and said I should take better care of her since she didn't come over to his place. I don't let her go over there because it's a bad part of town. You understand"  
"Sure, kids need to be safe" Rollins nodded and smiled, "so then, Frank was there?"  
"He started shouting and yelling about how I'm an unfit mother and he hit me" she pointed to her bruised face, "and then he forced me down on the floor and - and -" she broke off, unable to continue  
"It's ok" Olivia nodded, "we really need you say everything that happened"  
"What do you think he did?" Melissa's eyes glowed with rage, "the bastard raped me"

SVU Interrogation Room 2

"You went to her place?" Munch sat across Frank, the wooden table between them, Fin stood against the wall, "what were you thinking?  
"Our place, before I moved out" Frank stared ahead, past Munch, at the mirrored picture window, "I went over there. She doesn't let our daughter Jenny come over, says it's not safe. She's too busy playing house with that jerk"  
"Your daughter's playing house?" Fin wondered aloud  
"No no, Mel. She's got some guy on the side. That's why I left. I wanted to take Jenny with me, but Mel and I are just separated and our place was closer to Jenny's school"  
"So you went over there. Then what?" Fin pushed Frank along  
"I went there and Mel said that Jenny had gone to a friend's for the night. I don't know who this friend was and I guess I let my steam out"  
"Uh huh" Fin noted  
"We fought; I said that Mel wasn't being a good mother, letting her go out like that, without really knowing the other kids or their parents. I said that she just wanted Jenny out of the house so her guy could show up"  
"Did she say she was having a date?" Munch queried  
"She didn't have. She was all dressed up - I mean undressed up. She had on a nightie and makeup, and" he sighed, "come on, nobody wants to see their wife get all ready for somebody else"  
"You'd be surprised" Munch quipped, "but ok, so you fought and yelled and called her a bad mother. What happened after that?"  
"I threw the coat rack on the floor. I was just so angry and I wanted to take it out on something. The damn thing was just standing there so I lashed out and sent it sprawling on the floor. It made a heck of a clatter. Then I left"  
"You left?" Fin looked at Frank quizzically  
"I'd had it. First when she opened the door, she thought I was him, and then she was ready to do him right then and there. I just wanted to get out of there and leave her and everyone alone"  
"Right" Munch agreed, "hey, do you want something, a soda, some water, anything?"  
Frank scoffed, "for DNA? I'll do you one better" he took out a paper napkin from his pocket and spat on it, "there, there's your DNA. I didn't touch her. I just wish I'd never gone over there"

SVU Squad Room

"Is he good for it?" Amaro leaned on Olivia's desk  
"Based on what he said, they argued and he left, but he did give a DNA sample"  
"Voluntarily?" Amaro was surprised  
"Sure he did it" Fin walked in with some paperwork in his hand, "DNA never lies"  
"But he was ready to give the sample" Olivia countered, "if he had something to hide, he'd have lawyered up immediately"  
"According to this, it's him" Fin shrugged, laying the papers on Olivia's desk  
"Could she have gotten his sperm or DNA and planted it inside herself?" Munch glanced at the papers strewn on the desk  
"I don't think so" Amaro shook his head, "Besides, with what, a turkey baster?" he scoffed  
"Stranger things have happened" Munch  
"Bring in the boyfriend anyway" Cragen interjected, "just to make sure he wasn't playing doctor with our victim"

Morgue

"There's got to be a mistake here" Olivia looked at the computer screens with medical examiner Melinda Warner  
"Hardly," Warner motioned towards the screen, "see these strands" she pointed to the adjoining screen, "and these"  
"They look the same" Olivia noted  
"That's because they are" she nodded, "DNA doesn't lie"

Elliot Stabler's Apartment

Elliot Stabler lay asleep on the couch, though it could hardly be called restful. Fitfully, he rolled over on his side, mentally replaying the events in his head. Kathy had handed him divorce papers, again, except this time it was final. The kids had been all over the map, with Dickie squarely blaming Olivia, Maureen being away, Kathleen in a psychiatric ward, Lizzie tried to shut out the world, and little Eli was too young to realize the importance of any of it.  
"I just had to resign" Elliot spoke to himself, "don't that just beat all. What a time for me to pull out"  
The phone rang. Elliot sat up with a start  
"Right" he nodded and held the receiver to his ear, "I'll be there in ten"  
He hung up the phone and automatically dialed the number he knew by heart

SVU Interrogation Room 1

"We know you were there" Amaro leaned over the table and stared down the suspect  
"Of course I was there, Melly and I had a date" Jack shot in response  
"But maybe you wanted something more" Amaro raised an eyebrow  
"No way!"  
"Yes way fool" Fin came through the door and threw some papers on the table, "the DNA results came in. Read them and weep"  
"Screw you" Jack countered, "sure we argued. She gave me some lame excuse that her ex dropped by and that killed the mood for her-"  
"So you decided to do the same with her body?" Fin pounded the table  
"Hey, that's police intimidation!" he began to stand up  
"Trust me" Amaro leaned close enough so his nose was practically touching the suspect's nose, "you'll know intimidation when you see it" he sneered

SVU Squad Room

"Two guys, both say they left her alone, and we got DNA" Munch looked at the paperwork on his desk, "I just can't believe Frank is good for this"  
"I don't like it any more than you do" Olivia agreed, "but Warner's got a point. We can't second guess DNA" she glanced at her vibrating cell phone. The screen read "Elliot"  
"Like we couldn't second guess the DNA that almost got you put away" Fin shook his head, "Come on Liv, you know what I'm talking about"  
"That was different" she slipped the phone back on her belt, "that was some quack who was mixing DNA samples like Dr. Frankenstein's lab for money"  
"And what if this is the same thing?" Munch looked up, "Nick, what did you say earlier, something about a microwave?"  
"A turkey baster, but yeah" Amaro nodded, "there was another case with that lawyer, Tessa McKellen. I read about while I was back in Narcotics"  
"Right, she framed her husband to get back at him after he slept with Vicky Riggs" Olivia remembered  
"So what's to say that something like this isn't happening here?" Munch gestured to the paperwork. Both men say that she was alive when they left her. Maybe she had a third "friend" show up to get back at her ex, but things went south-"  
"He accidentally roughs her up too much and then runs off" Olivia finished, "leaving her beaten and with Frank's - essence inside her"  
"It's a long shot" Cragen spoke up, "but find out for sure. Olivia, talk to Melissa again. Nick, you and Munch talk to Warner about the DNA. Fin and Rollins, try putting the two Mr. Rights into one room. Maybe they'll turn on each other and something will float to the top"  
"I've got to be somewhere Captain" Olivia started  
"This case can't wait for your personal life Detective" Cragen sighed  
"It's about Elliot" she stated  
Cragen frowned, "This time only" he nodded, "Munch, Fin, see Warner about the DNA. Amaro, Rollins, make sure Frank and the boyfriend don't kill each other before they say anything worthwhile"

Morgue

"I can only tell you the same thing that I told Olivia" Warner explained, "for all intensive purposes, this is Frank's DNA"  
"I sense a "but" coming" Munch began  
"It better not be your bony ass" Fin gave a wry smile  
"Upon further inspection" Warner continued, "I found a small anomaly" she gestured to the screens, "Frank's sample from his tissue was normal. In normal DNA, eighty percent of the markers are methylated" she pointed to one strand, "but in the sample that CSU found, none of the markers are methylated. That got me thinking about an earlier case. Three years ago, Israeli scientists found a way to fabricate DNA" she explained, "someone can take a random vial of blood and spun out the white blood cells, which are the only ones that contain DNA, which means the blood sample would have no DNA"  
"How could anyone forget that one" Fin began, "That hump Brady took Liv's DNA, amplified it, and put it in somebody's blood so that made the entire sample hers"  
"Right" Warner nodded  
"But even the lab tech that fabricated the DNA broke some laws. He knowingly fabricated evidence that was used in a criminal trial, making him guilty of obstruction of justice" Munch explained  
"Then this time, someone else did it" Warner shrugged, "but that ball ends up in your court"

Stabler's car

"So, how are the kids taking all this?" Olivia began. Elliot had met her outside the precinct and now his car tore away from the building  
"Maureen's on her own, Kathleen's still in the hospital, Eli's just too little know what's going on, Lizzie's shut herself off from the world and Dickie's- well, you know"  
"I shouldn't have asked"  
"No. It's not just the divorce. Seems like the kids took their sides years ago" he trailed off  
"You mean the whole idea about us" Olivia guessed  
"I guess Dickie's been the most vocal about things" Elliot stared ahead at the road, "but you know all about that"  
Olivia remembered how Elliot's teenage son had accused her of sleeping with his father. She'd denied that anything had happened because it was true.  
But that didn't mean she hadn't been thinking about it.  
"I just have to do surveillance on this guy's office" he loosened his necktie  
"And you need me for backup?" her voice was incredulous. Elliot was the only one who could get her away from the Special Victims squad room  
"I need you-" he turned the car into the parking lot, "because you're the best"

SVU Interrogation Room 1

"Right in here Frank" Amanda ushered Cuttler into the room, "I got to pick up some papers. Just hang out here until I get back"  
"I-" Frank began, noticing Jack, "what's he doing here?"  
"Oh, you two know each other" she quipped, "you should have a lot to talk about" she closed the door  
From behind the one way mirror, Cragen and Amaro watched the two men argue. Rollins came over to them, "I've got to go check on Melissa. Any word from Benson?"  
"She had to meet someone" Cragen was terse, "it couldn't wait"  
"Her old partner?" Amaro guessed  
"She's that predictable?"  
"I just had a hunch" he shrugged

SVU Squad Room

Melissa lay on the plaid couch in a large alcove of the department. Her cuts had been bandaged and instead of her nightclothes, she wore plain gray sweats. Children's drawings decorated the walls and windows of the small recess. A television with several VHS cassettes and DVDs sat near the far wall on a battered coffee table. Rollins walked up to her  
"I'm sorry about the accommodations"  
"It's ok" she sat up slowly  
"I need to ask you some questions about your attack" she began, remembering Olivia's way of dealing with victims, "if you're up to it"  
"I can talk - I guess" Melissa was hesitant"  
"You reported that you'd been raped, and CSU found no signs of forced entry"  
"I really don't remember who did anything. I just woke up and saw the cuts and then you and the other detective came to the door"  
Rollins paused, forming her words carefully, "were you expecting anyone that night? Perhaps a date or company?"  
"Are you saying I invited this upon myself?" Melissa grew angry  
"No" she held up her hands, "not in the least. Sometimes, people you know can do things that surprise you"  
"The technician said they found something inside me, something that could be used to find out who did this to me"  
"We're looking into that"

SVU Interrogation Room 1

"You bastard!" Frank lunged at Jack. The two men struggled on the floor. Amaro and Cragen burst in the room; Amaro pulled Frank off of Jack while Cragen held Jack away from Frank.

Elliot's car

" Remind me what happened with the new ADA?" Elliot began  
"It couldn't work" Olivia sighed, "there was too much of a conflict of interest"  
"With him working with you and-" he didn't have to finish the sentence  
"Yeah" she sounded despondent  
"You really need to find a guy who's not attached to the police force, or the criminal justice system at all"  
"Someone who knows me" she sighed, "someone I know- to never ask out for sushi because he hates the stuff"  
"Yeah" he nodded, smiling, "Liv, I didn't leave just because of the shooting or just to get out of Tucker's line of fire"  
"Don't say it" she took a long breath, "you've got- the kids and -"  
"They'll understand" he reassured her, "I think Kathy must've known all along. That's why she was so angry"  
"But it wasn't like that" Olivia refuted, "we weren't-"  
"What did I tell you all those years ago?"  
"El" she tried to stop him  
"I'm your partner for better or worse" he slipped his hand in her. Their fingers interlaced.  
"I know that, but Nick-"  
"I heard about Amaro" he grinned, "and about Rollins. You need them. They're good cops"  
"I pride myself on being self sufficient"  
"You are. What can I say?"  
"I am" she resigned, "you're right"  
Elliot smiled, but it soon fell as he looked past Olivia, out of the car's passenger window  
"He's moving" he picked up a camera from the space between the diver's and passenger's seat. Elliot pressed a button and the shutter flickered multiple times as the camera took several photographs per second  
"Damn" his eyes followed the target as he made his way down the sidewalk  
"Our stakeout just turned into a chase" he started up the car. Olivia checked to make sure Elliot had left the headlights turned off. He had.

Commercial area

Elliot's car slowed a block from where the target's car had pulled over next to a hotel  
"You never went into detail about who we're tailing" Olivia glanced around at their surroundings  
"Just something I'm doing on my own"  
"On your own?" Olivia narrowed her eyes at her former partner  
"I've got to have some secrets" he gave her a sidelong glance, "You're entitled to yours"  
"Maybe so" she reasoned  
"Let's just go in" he looked up at the building into which the subject had entered, "A hotel"  
She looked at him, "You want to go undercover?"  
"I thought you'd never ask" he smiled. She smiled back  
They walked in and made a visual sweep of the lobby. Elliot realized that his target wasn't in view. He strode up to the front desk, "Hi this is my wife Olivia, I'm Elliot"  
Olivia took a room under her undercover name, Rachel Martin. The front desk clerk didn't bat an eye. Elliot glanced around the lobby and was surprised. The hotel looked like a several star establishment. He'd never taken Kathy to such a nice place when they'd been dating, and here he was today with Olivia. The fleeting thought brought a similarly fleeting smile to his face.  
"Sir?" the front desk clerk appeared confused  
"We're looking for this man" Elliot pulled out a snapshot from his pocket. Olivia craned her neck to see over his shoulder, but his arm covered up the photo.  
"We're not allowed to give out information about our patrons"  
"Maybe this will help" Olivia flashed her police badge  
"I – uh" the clerk flustered  
"Maybe you'd rather answer this down at the precinct" Olivia pressed the issue  
"He's in 501" the clerk blurted out

By the time the pair reached the fifth floor and stepped off the elevator, they found the room's door ajar and two men were in a heated argument. Shots were fired, but Stabler took a step towards the open door. Olivia put her hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.  
"You need to call for backup" Olivia advised  
"Guess what Liv" Elliot looked back momentarily, "that's you"  
He stepped forward through the doorway. The next few minutes were a blur. Bullets whizzed past Olivia's head. She saw Elliot take cover behind a double bed and she crouched beside him. The two men quit firing at each other and turned on the two newcomers  
Olivia looked up as the two men stared at her. She was in shock. Brian Cassidy stood there, grizzled and angry. His appearance was a far cry from the fresh-faced young detective she'd remembered from her first year in SVU. She didn't recognize the man he stood with. She didn't care, since the men had their pistols aimed at her  
Elliot drew their fire and instinctively protected Olivia by firing first at the unknown man and then at Cassidy  
Cassidy shot back, but Elliot dodged the bullets. He threw himself over Oliva to keep her out of the projectile's path  
For that moment, time stood still. Olivia didn't move. She looked up at Elliot's face. Here was the man she'd known for twelve years- now more, and she'd considered him to be her best friend. Truth be told, he'd been her longest relationship with a man. They shared a blood type, could there be no closer bond between two human beings?  
The moment passed and Elliot extended his arm out, shot back at the assailants and managed to send Cassidy's friend flying backward towards the wall.  
Olivia ripped her cell phone from her pocket and automatically dialed in a distress call, citing the hotel's address and room number.  
Elliot stood, his gun aimed squarely at Cassidy's head, "One move and you're finished" his eyes never left Cassidy's  
Brian held up his pistol, "It's not like that" he began  
"Save it" Elliot's face was grim. His mind flashed back to Olivia's confession of her one night stand with Cassidy from her first year at SVU

"How long have you been sleeping with Cassidy?" his eyes bore into her soul  
"Uh- I'm not" she'd been evasive  
"Your stomach just dropped two floors, Olivia. The subconscious doesn't lie" Elliot knew. They were that close  
"I'm not lying- not much" her eyes glanced away  
"Mm hmm" he sighed  
"Is it that obvious?" she searched his eyes for an answer  
"I'm your partner, for better or worse, Look, everybody knows too much about everybody else in this office" his words melted her heart. Here she'd gone and slept with Brian, and Elliot was now using this kind of terminology with her. He knew what his phrase sounded like. She wasn't sure if he'd said it on purpose, just to incite those kind of feelings in her  
"I broke a rule, Elliot. A personal one, and now he wants to see me again" she felt horribly embarrassed at her actions  
"Can you blame him?" he grinned. She blushed inwardly  
"I just- I can't right now. I didn't mean to. Well, I guess you never do but I-" she felt repentant  
"Sometimes you do" he indulged her

"You had your chance" Elliot narrowed his eyes  
"What are you talking about?" Cassidy was dumbfounded  
"You've caused enough mayhem with her"  
"Who—oh" Brian realized  
"Twelve years" was all Elliot said  
Brian stared at Elliot, not out of anger or hatred, but with a blank look of lack of understanding

SVU Squadroom

"These two aren't going to budge" Amaro shook his head. Frank and Jack were in a holding cell, looking more like students with poor conduct as they sat in opposite corners of the cell  
"Let's move, people" Cragen put down the receiver, "we just got a call from Olivia. Something's happening here" he marked a place on the cityscape map  
"Come on" Munch stood up

Hotel Room 501

"You're not worth this" Elliot fired his pistol  
Brian clutched his leg and fell, "What the hell did you do that for?"  
The door burst open. Amaro, Rollins, Fin and Munch barreled through. Amaro pulled Cassidy to his feet and handcuffed him  
Olivia stood and stared at Brian, "Elliot just saved your life"

SVU Squadroom

"What's the verdict on these two?" Olivia sat at her desk and looked across the room at Nick Amaro  
"They're both sticking to their story"  
"There's a reason for that" Munch walked in the room, "Nick, you were right" he placed Warner's results on the desk, "It seems like the wife played doctor or rather, mad scientist"  
"Crazy" Nick sighed  
"To be brutally honest" Munch began, "I didn't want it to be Frank. There's too much stress on the job, without worrying that one of your fellow boys in blue will go bad"  
"Nice alliteration" Olivia smiled  
"That's one of my specialties" John grinned  
"A cop going bad" Amaro shook his head, "If I went corrupt, Maria wouldn't have stayed with me for a single second"  
"Even with you being good, that didn't work" Fin sat forward in his chair. Nick shot him a look, "Don't look at me like that; my marriage only lasted for two years" he turned to face Olivia, "in fact, the only one who's held onto any sort of relationship has been-"  
"That's enough" Olivia stood and frowned at Fin, "We've figured out who's the perp and that's what's important" she walked out of the room  
"What's with her?" Amaro looked puzzled  
"You don't want to know" Fin sighed

Elliot Stabler's Apartment

Elliot pressed his remote control's button again, jumping from one television station to another, not really watching anything. After Amaro and Rollins had taken Cassidy away, Elliot had made a quick retreat, not even saying good bye to Olivia  
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Elliot walked over to the door and opened the latch. Olivia stood on the other end  
"Are you going to invite me in?" her voice had a smile but her face did not  
"Come on in" he opened the door fully  
"Nice" Olivia looked around. On the table, she saw framed photos of the Stabler children. On the wall, a hanging set of hooks held various baseball caps. The sofa looked worn and the TV sat on a battered wooden entertainment housing.  
"It's home" he shrugged  
"I came here to talk about things" she sat on the couch  
"I'm here" he sat next to her  
"I know seeing Brian again must've made you think about what we'd talked about years ago"  
"Back when you started in SVU"  
"Right" she nodded, "I've always been close with you"  
"Some would say too close" Elliot smiled  
"And now, with you leaving Kathy-"  
"Kathy left me" he interrupted her  
"Oh" she was quiet  
"It's ok. When I left the force, it was more than she could handle"  
"I'm sorry about that"  
"Don't be" he was firm about it, "you didn't do anything"  
"I still remember something your mother said, about how she realized why I scared Kathy"  
Elliot smiled and leaned back on the couch, "I guess you did"  
"Should she have been so afraid?" she was hesitant  
"I'd never do anything to put my marriage on the rocks" he began  
"Oh" she processed the information  
"But" he went on, "I'm not married now"  
"You aren't" she agreed"  
"I'm divorced. It's final" he emphasized  
"Ok" she nodded numbly  
"And you're here"  
"I am" she paused a moment, "Look, Elliot, I don't want you to feel that you have to say something about Kathy"  
"I don't want to talk about Kathy right now" he moved closer to her, "do you remember that night when your throat was slit right in front of me"  
"I remember the aftermath" she sighed  
"You, that job; those are the only things I had going for me"  
"And your kids"  
"My kids are my life, but" he paused  
"But?"  
"You're more than that Liv"  
Oliva couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everyone in SVU knew that she and Elliot were close, and while Elliot had been in Quantico, Fin had even joked that he would be better at protecting Olivia, since Fin watched Olivia's back, and not her backside.  
The joke wasn't lost on anyone at SVU. But this, tonight; Olivia wasn't completely ready for what he was telling her  
"Elliot, let's slow down"  
"I don't want to rush this" he started, "but I've been waiting for over twelve years to say this to you"  
"El" she moved closer to him  
"Liv" his face was inches from hers  
The atmosphere was palpable  
Neither of them could make the next move  
Elliot was the first to break the moment, "Liv, do you know why I left the force?" he placed his hand on her shoulder  
"Because of Jenna Fox" she stated the obvious, "because of how Tucker would've ridden you for another IAB issue"  
"Ok, that's part of it" he rubbed his closely cropped hair, "but that's not the real reason"  
"Which is" the moment was palpable with meaning  
"Something you mentioned to Cassidy" he grinned, "last century"  
Olivia looked stunned  
"Guys talk, Liv", he went on, "you'd told him that you don't fall in love with people you work with"  
"El" she blushed from embarrassment at the memory, "we were both drunk and it was just one time"  
"That's not the point" he stared into her eyes, "you were right. You don't fall in love with people you work with. The problem was that I only had two options. I could make you a liar or I could leave"  
Olivia was beside herself with the newfound knowledge, "You put everything on the line; you gave up everything- your job, your family life, your marriage. You did all of that for me?"  
"No" he shook his head, "I couldn't put that kind of pressure on you. To be brutally honest, I was selfish. I couldn't go on trying to have my cake and eat it too. I had to make a choice"  
There was an unsaid "and" when Olivia's lips parted but no sound emanated. Elliot took that as a sign to explain himself  
"Liv" he placed his other hand on her shoulder, effectively bracing her, "Every time. No matter what; I'd choose you"

Epilogue

The bedsheets rustled from the movement of two bodies. Elliot reached his hand out from under the covers and grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand. He handed it to Olivia. She took a sip and then so did he.  
"You know, divorce is a sin" Olivia's cheek rubbed against Elliot's shoulder. He replaced the glass on the nightstand  
"So's extramarital sex" he squeezed her hand  
"Touche" she smiled  
"I guess it's too early to start thinking about kids" he gazed at her  
"El" she was taken aback, not by his words, but the emotion behind them  
"Olivia. I've wanted to be able to give you a baby for longer than I can  
remember"  
"You've got five kids of your own. If I count Calvin in the lot, that's a total of six"  
"Well, I've always been a fan of Eight is Enough" he grinned.


End file.
